Two years ago, when the late Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Minister Naba Kisore Das was asked about his love for guns, he had said, “kept the rifles for fancy and not for protection”.
Das, 61, was shot dead on Sunday, 29 January, by an assistant sub-inspector called Gopal Das in the Brajarajnagar area of Jharsuguda, Odisha. Das was a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Jharsuguda and was the minister of Health and Family Welfare in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet.
Das is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.
Das was one of the richest ministers of the state and had declared movable and immovable possessions worth Rs 34 crore, including those in the name of his spouse, in 2022.
The assets included three firearms - a revolver valued at Rs 55,000, a rifle worth Rs 1,25,000 and a double barrel gun worth Rs 17,500. The minister has properties in New Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda and over 140 vehicles.
Last week, the minister made news after donating a gold pitcher to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Media reports claimed that the donation was worth Rs 1 crore, but Das later said that it cost Rs 10 lakh.
An Astute Politician
Though now a close confidante of Naveen Patnaik, Das started his political career with Congress. Das, who was a law graduate, entered politics from his college days and was elected as the Students’ Union president at Gangadhar Meher College in Sambalpur.
He later became vice-president of Odisha NSUI and Odisha Youth Congress before becoming a member of OPCC. He was known to be close to former chief minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik.
He tried his luck first in 2004 from the Jharsuguda Assembly seat but lost to BJD’s Kishore Mohanty. He contested again in 2009 and then in 2014 from a Congress ticket and defeated Mohanty both times.
In 2019, Das was the OPCC working president when he decided to jump ship and join the BJD months before the assembly elections. Before leaving the party, Das told the Congress leadership that his “people wanted him to be with Naveen Patnaik”.
The people and voters of my area want that I should contest the next election on the BJD ticket as they want development. I will place all these suggestions before Odisha CM and BJD president Naveen Patnaik during the latter’s scheduled visit to Jharsuguda on 24 January.Naba Kisore Das, in a letter to Rahul Gandhi
Managing COVID-19 as Health Minister
After joining BJD, Das was given the health and family welfare ministry, a position he held until his demise. His handling of the COVID-19 pandemic earned praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and possibly ensured a vote of confidence with the BJD Supremo as he managed to retain his position even after Patnaik’s cabinet overhaul in 2022.
Commenting on the WHO article in 2020, Das had said, “This is a huge morale booster for our frontline workers and Covid warriors. The recognition from the highest healthcare body in the world means a lot. The fight is not over yet. It only makes our resolve stronger.”
More recently, when Omicron’s sub-variant BF.7 created havoc in several countries, Das had assured that the state government was prepared to tackle any situation. The minister took steps to ensure safety and prevent the spread of COVID during the Hockey World Cup, which ended on Sunday.
Unanswered Questions Around Das’ Death
As per reports, the suspect was the health minister’s PSO a few years ago. It was unclear why the officer attacked Das. Brajrajnagar SDPO Gupteswar Bhoi told news agency PTI that an inquiry has also been launched to find out what prompted the ASI to open fire.
According to eyewitnesses, the ASI fired 4-5 rounds of bullets, one of which hit Das in the left side of his chest.
Videos show a bleeding and semi-conscious Das being picked up by party workers. He was first admitted to the Jharsuguda main hospital, but as his condition was critical, he was airlifted to Bhubaneswar and treated at Apollo Hospital, where he breathed his last.
The ASI’s wife, Jayanti Das, told regional publications that her husband had a mental disorder and had been getting treatment for the last seven-eight years in eastern Odisha’s Brahmapur. She told reporters that he used to stop taking his medicines sometimes.
His wife denied the ASI having any personal enmity with Das. As per local reports, the ASI had had a brief interaction with the late minister a month ago.
Dr Chandra Sekhar Tripathy, the head of the Psychiatry department at MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Brahmapur, told reporters that Gopal Das had bipolar disorder.
“Das had first visited my clinic about eight to ten years ago. He used to get angry very easily and was undergoing treatment for this,” Dr Tripathy said, as per PTI.
As per the police, Gopal Das was issued the firearm a day ago and was tasked with the minister's security duty on Sunday. Party members have asked how despite having a history of mental disorder, Das was issued a service revolver and appointed in charge of a police post at Brajrajnagar.
Opposition leaders have also raised questions about an intelligence failure in assessing threats to the leader.
CM Patnaik expressed deep shock and distress and added that Das' death was a great loss to the State of Odisha.
“Das was an asset for both the government and the party. He has successfully carried many initiatives in the health department to the benefit of the people,” the CM added.
The chief minister has also ordered a crime branch enquiry into the incident.
Das' untimely death has left a void in Western Odisha's politics. But daughter Dipali could be seen taking forward his legacy. She was already been seen with her father on political forums and had courted controversy for being "appointed" as an official representative of the health minister. Last year in a public gathering, Das had said that after his generation, his daughter was going to control the reigns.
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